Vancouver, British Columbia (April 25, 2024)—Canadian music producer and engineer Garth Richardson has installed a PMC 7.1.4 monitoring system at his recording studio, The Farm, near Vancouver, British Columbia.
As an award-winning producer and engineer, Richardson—also known as Gggarth, due to his stutter—has stamped his mark on music from Rage Against the Machine’s debut album to records by Red Hot Chili Peppers, Skunk Anansie, Mötley Crüe, Biffy Clyro and Taylor Swift. His new 7.1.4 system comprises three PMC6-2 monitors for LCR, four PMC6 monitors for the side channels, four PMC Ci30 monitors for the ceiling/height channels, and four PMC8-2 subs.
Richardson’s introduction to PMC came via a recommendation from another Grammy-winning producer, Dave Schiffman. Richardson demoed a pair and when he played back the first Rage Against the Machine album, he says, “I could hear everything—all the moves I had done in the studio back in 1991. I liked what I heard so much that I ended up buying a pair of PMC AML2 monitors for myself. I’ve had them years and always loved them. They were the main monitors in my control room until we upgraded to Dolby Atmos.”
Canadian Cred: Garth Richardson & Mike Fraser
The Farm features a live room designed by Ron Obvious (who has also built studios for Bryan Adams and Robert “Mutt” Lange), and a control room designed by John Ryan Sullivan of MDRN Acoustic Concepts. Work to upgrade the control room to accommodate a PMC Dolby Atmos monitoring system began in 2022 and was completed at the end of 2023.
“As a producer, I am an innovator who is always evolving and trying to do things better, which is one reason why I decided to embrace Dolby Atmos,” Richardson says. “I heard an Atmos demo on the PMC booth at NAMM, and I thought ‘Holy shit, this is brilliant.’ Atmos gives you a 3D canvas and a whole new way of connecting with music. I know there are a lot of non-believers, but for me, hearing Atmos at that PMC demo was the first time I felt the music had given me a hug. A good Atmos mix played back in the right setting through great speakers can literally make you cry. Music should make you feel like you are emotionally involved, and that’s what Atmos does. It’s like you are in the room with the band. It’s magical.”
